Feedback on this Clouser Minnow?

[BostonTroutGuy 0]

Dear List--

 

I am a rookie fly tyer--midway through my eighth month behind the vice. Attached is a Clouser Minnow. I'd really appreciate any and all assessments, critiques, advice. Many thanks in advance!

[Bimini15 0]

Good start. The real opinions come from the fish.

I, and this is just a personal opinion, like them a little fuller and not so flared.

I would clean the hook eye a bit, but that is about it

[josephcsylvia 0]

Not to shabby, try not to tie down as much of the back color (olive)

[Cold 0]

.

[mikechell 0]

Hey Boston. That looks almost exactly like pictures I've seen of the originals. Nice, sparse materials will give it a translucent profile in the water. Just like it's supposed to look!

[retrocarp 0]

Yeah I agree with Mike ......Just neaten up the thread wraps around the head and you're done !!

[BostonTroutGuy 0]

Thanks a million guys!

[FlatsRoamer 0]

Let us know how the 2nd version came out

[Dave G. 0]

I agree, learn to tie a neater head is all. If you trim your materials on a taper and tie down you should end up with no fibers sticking out over the eye to trim up. And that is if it matters to you LOL.

[s1rGr1nG0 0]

Clean up the eye and you're good to go.

I've been tying for 10-ish years I think. In fact, I took an extended hiatus and only recently got back into tying. My first clouser that I tied earlier this week had the nose flared out even worse than yours!

I've since gotten the feel for it again and they are starting to look better. I don't get to fish very often so tying is the next best thing!

[tidewaterfly 0]

These folks have it covered. I say this most every time someone makes such a post about the Clouser Minnow. The next best thing to having Bob Clouser show you, & if you want to learn to tie it "correctly", is get a copy of Bob Clouser's book, "Clousers Flies" and tie them as Bob ties them. It's a worthwhile book to have too since it covers many of his other patterns.

[Philly 0]

Looks good. Nice and sparse, not to much flash. As already mentioned the head needs cleaning up a bit. One way to do that is tie in the material a bit further back from the eye, leaving a bit of a space so when you wrap it down there's nothing sticking out. The only other thing is the belly hair is tied down to far back on the shank. If you do it the "Clouser" way. If the hook shank is 30 mm long. The eyes should sit 10 mm back from the eye(1/3 the shank length) and the belly hair should be wrapped down for 10 mm behind the eye. I still measure when I tie them, even though I'm pretty good at eyeballing the spots.

[BuzFly 0]

Well good first attempt. I would strongly suggest getting Bob Clousers book and read it. Not trying to be insulting, but he lays it out in simple detail.

The eye is good and placed in a good position. The bottom white is ok, but you need to look how to tie it in better. The tips should only be secured at the hook eye, then move your thread to behind the eye without binding down the bucktail. When the thread is behind the eye then you secure the bucktail right behind the eye. You want to create a triangle of bucktail between the hook eye and the top of the eye of the hook that is open. Two most common options for wrapping the white bucktail down the shank of the hook. You can do 5 or 6 open spiral wraps to the back of the hook and come back to behind the eye or you can bind it down with tight wraps like you did. I like the first way because it is more consistent with the way Bob ties them. Take a few warps behind the lead eye, I like to throw in a whip finish, and then move the thread forward to the hook eye with out going over the bucktail an collapsing the triangle. Flip the fly over and tie in the top clump of bucktail at the hook eye. Build up a small thread head, do not collapse the triangle, and whip finish. Coat the head with epoxy/uv acrylic or a few coats of head cement. You can add you flash where ever you want.

Most commercially tied Clouser tied by the Big Commercial Fly Houses do not tie them the way Bob does and use 2-3 times more material then they should.

 

Yours will work, but get his book and see how he does it and why. That is the most important part before you make changes to it.